About Scioto Catholic - St. Peter in Chains · Wheelersburg, Ohio
St. Peter in Chains is one of four historic worship campuses that today make up St. John Paul II Scioto Catholic Parish, a Roman Catholic parish in the Diocese of Columbus serving Portsmouth, Wheelersburg, and surrounding Scioto County in southern Ohio. The Wheelersburg campus, located at 2167 Lick Run Lyra Road, offers a Saturday Vigil Mass at 6:00 p.m. and a Monday noon Mass, along with regular confessions. The parish was unified under its current name in 2024 and is led by Pastor Fr. Stephen Smith, KHS, with a strong pastoral emphasis on the Eucharist, perpetual adoration, sacred music (including Gregorian chant workshops and Latin Novus Ordo Masses), Catholic education, and Hispanic ministry.
- Established
- 1850
- Patron
- St. Peter in Chains (commemorating the liberation of the Apostle Peter from Herod's prison)
- Rector
- Rev. Stephen Smith, KHS
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus
Why belong here
St. Peter in Chains belongs to one of the most pastorally distinctive Catholic communities in southern Ohio — a unified parish that worships across four historic campuses, offers perpetual Eucharistic adoration, celebrates Mass both ad orientem and in Latin (Novus Ordo), and places Gregorian chant workshops and sacred music at the heart of its life. Members can receive the sacraments in English and Spanish, send their children to Notre Dame Elementary and Notre Dame High School, and serve through ministries that range from religious education and youth ministry to outreach to the sick and homebound, all under the pastoral care of Fr. Stephen Smith and a sizable lay staff.
Mass times at Scioto Catholic - St. Peter in Chains
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday — 11:30 a.m. at St. Peter Campus
- Saturday — 5:00–5:45 p.m. at St. Peter Campus
- Or by appointment
Adoration times
- Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (chapel at St. Mary Campus; open 24 hours)
- Campus Program Administrator: Howard Robinson — [email protected]
Our Story — From Lick Run Hilltop to a Four-Campus Parish
St. Peter in Chains traces its origin to 1849, when Evert and Mary Friske donated two acres on Lick Run to Bishop John B. Purcell of Cincinnati for a church and cemetery. German and Irish families working the local iron and coal furnaces — Eberhard Friske, Henry Lipker, Michael Delabar, John Mossman, Christopher Flanagan and others — built a log chapel under the direction of Father Emmanuel Thienpont, pastor of Nativity Church in Portsmouth; it was dedicated as St. Peter in Chains in 1850–51. Father Louis Schreiber became the first resident pastor in November 1863. By 1880 the log church had been outgrown, so Father John B. Ritter moved the parish to land on Dogwood Ridge about a mile from Wheelersburg; a frame church was dedicated there by Bishop Watterson in November 1885. The present brick church followed in 1941. In 2024 the Diocese of Columbus brought together four historic parishes — Holy Redeemer, Holy Trinity, St. Mary, and St. Peter in Chains — along with the legacy communities of Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Sorrows, and St. Monica, into a single family: St. John Paul II Scioto Catholic Parish. The Wheelersburg church remains an active worship site, and the legacy of Lick Run lives on in the parish's name, devotion, and heritage.
- 1849 — Friske family donates land on Lick Run to Bishop Purcell
- 1850–51 — Log chapel dedicated as St. Peter in Chains
- 1863 — Father Louis Schreiber becomes first resident pastor; rectory built
- 1885 — Frame church on Dogwood Ridge dedicated by Bishop Watterson
- 1941 — Present brick church dedicated
- 2024 — Parish unified as St. John Paul II Scioto Catholic Parish
Clergy and Staff
St. John Paul II Scioto Catholic Parish is pastored by a team of two priests and four permanent deacons, supported by a full lay staff for religious education, sacred music, finance, facilities, IT, outreach, and community life. The Little Handmaids of the Lamb (LIHM) religious sisters serve on the faith-formation team and as teachers at Notre Dame Elementary and Notre Dame High School.
- Rev. Stephen Smith, KHS — Pastor
- Rev. Michael Fulton, KHS — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Mr. David Glockner, G.H.M. — Permanent Deacon; Coordinator of Parish Outreach
- Rev. Mr. Chris Varacalli — Permanent Deacon
- Rev. Mr. Jim Sturgeon — Permanent Deacon
- Rev. Mr. Terry Acox — Permanent Deacon
- Carolyn Paul — Finance Manager
- Chris Ponzio — Facilities & Maintenance Supervisor
- Mary Anne Hughes — Community Life Director; Kindergarten Teacher, NDES
- Sister Chiara Francisco, LIHM — Director of Religious Education; Religion Teacher, NDHS
- Marissa McCormick — Assistant Director of Religious Education; Wedding Coordinator
- Patrick Torsell — Director of Sacred Music
- Tim Paul — Director of IT
- Rose Turner — Secretary
- Kathy Bartolomucci — Administrative Assistant, Finance
- Sisters of the Little Handmaids of the Lamb (LIHM): Mother Assumpta, Sr. Laura Austria Estrano, Sr. Tangan
Sacraments and Sacramental Emergencies
The parish celebrates all the usual sacraments across its four campuses and offers a dedicated Sacramental Emergency Line for those in imminent danger of death. Couples preparing for marriage at any of the parish churches begin with the parish Wedding Coordinator and follow the parish's published Wedding Guidelines. Discerning men may speak with Fr. Smith about priesthood or deaconate vocations, and women considering religious life are likewise welcome to begin that conversation with the parish priests; additional resources are available through vocationscolumbus.org.
- Sacramental Emergency Line: (740) 981-9555 — for those in imminent danger of death (NOT for financial assistance)
- Marriage: contact Wedding Coordinator Marissa McCormick; Wedding Guidelines published on parish site
- Holy Orders / Vocations: contact Fr. Stephen Smith at (740) 354-4551 or [email protected]
- Religious life discernment for women: conversation with parish priests
- Diocesan Vocation site: vocationscolumbus.org
Religious Education, Youth, and Catholic Schools
Faith formation is led by Sister Chiara Francisco, LIHM, as Director of Religious Education and by Marissa McCormick as Assistant Director and Wedding Coordinator. The parish operates a Youth Ministry program that partners with Notre Dame Elementary School (NDES) and Notre Dame High School (NDHS); the Youth Ministry Coordinator oversees retreats, service opportunities, weekly youth nights, Damascus Summer Camp, and a calendar of high-school events. The parish has a posted part-time Youth Ministry Coordinator job description emphasizing missionary discipleship, family accompaniment, and bilingual (English/Spanish) capacity.
- Director of Religious Education — Sr. Chiara Francisco, LIHM (also teaches religion at NDHS)
- Assistant DRE / Wedding Coordinator — Marissa McCormick
- Notre Dame Elementary School (NDES) — parish-affiliated
- Notre Dame High School (NDHS) — parish-affiliated
- Youth Ministry retreats, weekly youth nights, and service opportunities
- Connection to Catholic Youth Summer Camp at Damascus Mission Campus
Sacred Music and Liturgical Life
Sacred music is a distinctive emphasis of the parish, directed by Patrick Torsell. The parish has hosted Gregorian chant workshops and offers a Sunday-morning Latin Novus Orvo Mass at the Holy Redeemer Campus as well as ad orientem weekday Masses at St. Mary during the school year — a liturgical profile that is rare for a parish of its size and reflects the pastor's emphasis on the Eucharist as the center of parish life.
- Director of Sacred Music — Patrick Torsell
- Gregorian chant workshops
- Sunday Latin Novus Ordo Mass at Holy Redeemer
- Ad orientem weekday Masses at St. Mary during the school year
- Hispanic / Spanish-language Mass and confessions at Holy Redeemer
Outreach, Community Life, and Hispanic Ministry
Outreach to the broader community is led by Deacon David Glockner, G.H.M., as Coordinator of Parish Outreach. A Ministry to the Sick and Homebound brings Communion and the sacraments to those unable to attend Mass. Community Life is coordinated by Mary Anne Hughes, and the parish operates a dedicated Hispanic ministry with a Sunday-evening Spanish Mass and Spanish confessions at the Holy Redeemer Campus.
- Parish Outreach — Deacon David Glockner, G.H.M.
- Ministry to the Sick & Homebound (linked from parish homepage)
- Community Life — Mary Anne Hughes
- Spanish-language Sunday Mass at 5:00 p.m. and confessions at 6:10 p.m. at Holy Redeemer
Locations and Contact
The parish operates from a Business Office in downtown Portsmouth and worships at four historic church campuses across Scioto County. St. Peter in Chains is the Wheelersburg campus, with its own telephone line for parish business and access to the parish-wide office.
- Business Office: 514 Market Street, Portsmouth, OH 45662 — (740) 354-4551 — [email protected]
- St. Peter in Chains Campus: 2167 Lick Run Lyra Road, Wheelersburg, OH 45694-8882 — (740) 574-5486
- Holy Redeemer Campus: 1325 Gallia Street, Portsmouth, OH 45662
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus (www.columbuscatholic.org)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Louis Schreiber1863–1866
First resident pastor of St. Peter in Chains; arrived November 1863, the same autumn the rectory was built under Father D.M. Winands.
- Revs. H.H. Mayrose, Charles F. Schelhamer, Aloysius Nonnen, Francis Karge, Alexander Istwann, F. Albert, J. Neumayer, Peter J. Weisenberger, Philip Luemmert, P.J. Thurheimerafter 1866
Mission priests who served the Lick Run / Lilly community in the decades after Fr. Schreiber.
- Father John B. Ritterfrom 1880
Moved from Lilly to Lick Run and oversaw the move of the parish to Dogwood Ridge and construction of the new frame church dedicated by Bishop Watterson in November 1885.